EMDR

Trauma is a fact of life; it is an experience that causes one to develop beliefs about oneself and the world. These experiences are stored in the body-mind in the form of irrational emotions and thoughts and can cause physical symptoms.

Major traumas are those that affect one dramatically, such as war, assaults, rape, childhood abuse, disaster, accidents, life threatening illness and loss. These events often change one perspective on life, causing one to question oneself and the world around them. These experiences often lead to symptoms such as Post Traumatic Stress, anxiety, phobia and fear as well as to contributing to significant challenges both at home and at work. There are other life experiences that decrease one‘s sense of self-confidence and self-efficacy. These experiences are overwhelming, but often don’t seem as traumatic. They are limiting views of oneself and the world, causing suffering and keeping one from living to one’s full potential. Some examples of these experiences may be a sense of isolation, chronic pain and experience of neglect.

When a person experiences life changing events, the experiences become locked in the nervous system, along with the original picture, sounds, thoughts and feelings, as if it was frozen in time in the body and the mind. As research of Neuroscience evolves, we are continuing to learn more and more about the complexity of the brain and its function. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an integrative psychotherapeutic approach that has been extensively researched and proven effective for the treatment of trauma.

We are learning that alternating right- and left-brain stimulation, via visual, auditory, and/or tactile experience, helps unlock the nervous system and allows the mind and body to process distressing experiences, which were previously inaccessible . A memory that was once charged with emotions can now become less distressing. It is important to remember that it is your own brain that will be doing the healing and that you are the one in control. EMDR is a set of standardized protocols that incorporates elements from many different treatment approaches. To date, EMDR therapy has helped millions of people of all ages relieve many types of psychological stress. Although EMDR may produce results more rapidly than previous forms of therapy, speed is not the issue and it is important to remember that every client has different needs and rhythms. In EMDR treatment, I begin with a history-taking session during which we will assesses your readiness for EMDR and develop a treatment plan based on your specific needs. The end result of successful EMDR is to allow the body and mind to heal, to restore one’s natural state of well-being and emotional balance.